thenearshore | -Overflow- for 015

[[OOC:Prayer Link here]]

Not gonna be that easy, but got him out of the way.

[In the least messy way possible, too. He folds his arms, still trying to learn how this thing is supposed to be something he can fight in.]

There's something close by - might be his ayakashi or not. But my first question is how I'm going to take it out when this thing is so heavy.

[And he's actually a bit stronger than a normal human anyway.]

Do you recognize what this vessel form even is?

Nope. Never seen it before.

[He said that as if he was stating a simple fact of life. Though he did get the feeling that this was a topic he didn't want to spend much time on, so maybe it was no surprise that he was going to take the conversation elsewhere.]

Try that handle there.

[Ross was referring to the metal guard around Schuldig's left forearm, which had a handle looking thing located right above the knuckles of his hand.]

[The only good part about being a Telepath in this kind of situation where he really did not trust Ross at all was that he believed what Ross said... by virtue of confirming those thoughts in his mind, just as casually as he'd done to the boy. Fine, if he didn't remember anything with his previous god(s), then he wasn't about to bother digging deeper now and risk breaking a brand new shinki.]

Huh? This one?

[Sure Ross didn't know what it would do, but then again neither did Schuldig. Nor could he exactly take the damn thing off to try it. Curiosity and all... oh well.]

Alright, get ready...

[And he pulls the handle just enough to realize it's not just going to give, and instead yanks it hard.]

[The handle gave way, revealing the attached wire. Not only that, but pulling out the handle caused a small fan on the back to spring to life, and the long exhaust pipes nearby spewed flames not long after. Something was powering on, though he couldn't say what it was. He'd just been a sword before; this was decidedly more complicated.]

You can set things on fire now. Good for you.

[Schuldig turns around and reaches for his hair to pull it out of the way. Holy shit!! Not good for someone with long hair.]

Damnit!

[He's still got a hold of the handle though.]

That's not what I thought your power was!

[Meanwhile, there's an ayakashi skulking around the school yard and now coming around the corner of the building. It looks like a slow-waddling duck of sorts.]

Pffft. [Unfortunately, Ross found this turn of events to be hilarious.]

What did you think it was? [Granted, he wasn't convinced that was all there was to this form, but that part could be left unsaid for a little while.

He thankfully noticed the ayakashi before he could rub more salt into the wound. However, he said nothing about it, figuring that Schuldig was more than aware of its presence anyway. Or he was just being an asshole again. Either/or.]

Something less... obvious!

[Schuldig actually ducks into a crouch in order to jump up onto the gate. Damn this thing is heavy. What happened to those light boots, geez!]

I guess I'll just have to try it the hard way for now. You know how to rend or were former gods too lame for prayers that involved ayakashi?

[From Ross's attitude, he could glean that the guy didn't hold much attachment to those former gods - or so he believed.]

[And that assessment would be correct, although not for the obvious reasons. It wasn't so hard to avoid getting too attached if he never allowed himself to get any more attached than he had to. While that was how he felt about it, there was still a slight pang of irritation at hearing his former gods be referred to as "lame."]

I know how.

[That was one of the perks of being around as long as he had. He'd had some time to figure this stuff out.]

Hurry up, or the duck's going to very slowly waddle away.

Good. One less thing to teach you.

[Because he's had to teach plenty of shinki. Their gods wouldn't use them at all, so they didn't know how to even rend an ayakashi. That, he considered lame. Ross could deal with it.

Since it's slowly waddling though... he can at least walk right up to it, speaking casually as he goes and managing to lift that armored arm into the air.]

You who desecrate this Land of the Rising Sun!
With my advent, I, Loki, lay waste with the Senki
and expel thy vast defilement!

[He brings the armored part down on the ayakashi's head like ringing a gong, not letting his own hand touch the blighted skin of the ayakashi at all..]

REND!

I don't want to learn anything from you.

[Ross' vessel form glowed and left a streak of light in the air as Schuldig struck the unsuspecting duck ayakashi right on the noggin. Seeing it clutch its head and let out a noise of complaint before disappearing would have been comical if it wasn't--well, an ayakashi.]

How was an ayakashi like that even able to stick around this long...?

[Seriously, someone was dropping the ball here.]

You will sooner or later. It might just be something really simple, like...

[And then his ears perk up and he smiles again.]

Boy. There's nothing like being able to make any wish you want to bring out the petty nature of some kids. That's another prayer I just heard - the kind that most other gods ignore.

[See? He's doing a service.]

Might not have been that ayakashi after all - or not just that one.

[[OOC: Prayer Link here]]

Edited 2017-05-16 16:51 (UTC)

[He had to wonder if the reason most gods would have ignored this prayer (whatever it was) also happened to be a good one...]

You're not saying exactly what this prayer is on purpose, aren't you. Just say it outright.

[Whoops. Looks like someone didn't like to beat around the bush at times either. Though it didn't matter much either way, considering he was stuck coming along for the ride regardless.]

[Of course he's holding on for dramatic tension. And to be an asshole. He doesn't take orders from his shinki. A bunch of friends in the middle of a petty argument have all made different Tanabata wishes that their other friends will suffer equally petty repercussions, like "trip over their own two feet." That's the kind of thing he can help with.]

What do you care what the prayer's about if it's not attacking an ayakashi, anyway? Not like they can hear you.

[He teleports over to the opposite side of the building, where one of the kids is leaving the gym and heading back into the main building to leave for the day. He starts scanning the kid, getting a handle on the situation.]

I care because I know you're keeping me in my vessel form for no reason now.

[Given his position, it would have been a better answer to say something about he was supposed to be his god's moral compass and he had to answer moral prayers or whatever, but meh. Holier-than-thou was definitely not a phrase that was best used in describing him.

The kid had was sporting a sour look, complete with his hands in his pockets and him kicking the ground in frustration. Given the latter, it wouldn't be so difficult to send him flat on his face.]

"I didn't do anything wrong. Why do I have to apologize..."

Not true at all!

[He chuckles a little before approaching the kid.]

Far Shore gods can sense other Far Shore folks... but ayakashi are a bit different than that.

[He's covering for his telepathy a bit.]

Can't sense them nearly as well. Who knows when they'll just pop right up!

[Which is true, he can't read their minds, but he CAN sense a giant spot of raw emotion every now and again.]

Now settled down and let me see if this new prayer involves an ayakashi or not. Could just be a bunch of brats dealing with stupid high school drama for all I know - with you yapping in my ear.

[Ross didn't particularly do well with taking orders, even thought that was part of his job as a shinki. Especially since he was sure he was being talked down to. How much of all that was true, even?

...Yeah, he was basically sulking by this point. Stewing in his own irritation was also a valid descriptor. But instead of complaining any more he was just going to find out whether he could still take a nap in this form.]

Alright then. Gonna earn those sweets I see.

[Carrot and stick.]

Alright - sure enough. The kids are fighting over petty crap and all they wanna do is get in each other's faces a bit, like spray-painting a locker or getting their house keys left behind at school or tying shoelaces together. Stupid crap like that. Now, I'm not interested in helping kids egg each other's houses, but...

[He starts listening around the school, see if he can find the other friends.]

A good old fashioned shouting match or water balloon fight or something might do the trick. Maybe pebbles if that's all that's around. These kids won't have the guts, but if they have the opportunity it'll make 'em think.

[...Dammit. So much for that nap.]

I'm interested in helping kids egg houses. [Or things in general, really. Oh, and by "houses" he about half meant that as "Schuldig's face." How dare you threaten to take the sweets away!]

You're that sure they won't have the guts?

Guess we'll find out.

[Schuldig uses his power to bring the kids together in the courtyard, where they all start to stare each other down, waiting for one to make the first move.]

Except we don't have all night.

[To excuse his powers, he kicks a pebble towards the middle of the three of them. That should get them all thinking a little more about things.]

They should just start a yelling match. First level of getting things off a person's chest. Just screaming at the top of your lungs.

If that's how you do things, I'll have to get earplugs. [Earplugs would probably be a good thing to have anyway, actually.

Of course, the pebble rolling that way just started an argument about why one had clearly kicked that pebble toward them on purpose, while the other insisted on their innocence. Things just snowballed from there. The yelling was quickly getting to the point where the kids coming to blows over this wasn't out of the question. Eggs or water balloons probably would have been safer...]

Try kicking a bigger pebble this time. Sounds like they've still got a lot of things left to get off their chests.

Nah. Probably not a pebble big enough.

[Schuldig hears Ross's thoughts and decides hmm, sure, not a bad plan. He teleports into the school kitchen and finds the cafeteria fridge, where he can take eggs out of.]

Here we go...

[And when he teleports back in, he pops one egg in each kid's hand.]

Go on, let em fly.

[There was a silent, baffled moment where the kids wondered where the eggs had come from or perhaps more importantly, why, but that only lasted until one of them decided that throwing was a better idea. All it really took was one egg to the face before all hell broke loose. Oh, the eggmanity!]

I changed my mind, this was worth staying awake for.

[This was almost as good as almost setting Schuldig's hair on fire.]

Heh. You're welcome.

[Oh he's not about to let Ross live that thought down, but hey at least the kids are beating themselves up now. They keep throwing things until at last one of them yells for the others to stop, asking what exactly everything is about. Why are they egging each other? Why are they fighting?]

See, I thought that something like this would get them talking. Now to see if there's an ayakashi behind this.

[He hopes there is.]

[No regrets! ...For now.]

Can you tell if there are any other arguments happening nearby?

[It seemed unlikely that this was the first one if there really was an ayakashi causing the problem. And if there were other strange arguments happening, the ayakashi was probably close by too. That made the most sense to him, if no one else.]

Sure can.

[Not gonna explain why. Just that he can. He teleports up above the rooftop since now the kids have moved on to hashing out their issues.]

And somewhere near that should be whatever's causing it. Schools are apparently notorious draws for ayakashi. Who knew.

[He knows, of course, because of his interactions with the Demon.]

Give me another chance to take out an ayakashi too.

[It's a fun experience, all of that raw emotion just fading away into nothing.]

Prayer #36 Start!

no subject

no subject

no subject

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

Prayer #35 Start (1/15)

no subject

3/15

4/15

5/15

6/15

7/15

815

9/15

10/15

11/15

12/15

13/15

14/15

15/15